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Oh no! Orac wants to know - where's your JavaScript?!Your Web browser does not have JavaScript enabled or does not support JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript on your Web browser to properly view this Web site, or upgrade to a Web browser that does support JavaScript; Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome or a version of Internet Explorer newer then version 6.

Hugbot - lovely vehicle for Vila to shine and a nice start to the morning. Of course he would understand alchohol responses and I liked your use of Lurena's logic puzzles. I wonder what the nursebot would have done to Vila if he got it wrong and whether Avon would have teleported in to save him?

Travisina - yes I would like a Vila/ Nemmy development. I felt that needed more development when I read the story-it was intriguing enough work because she existed for me as a real character but left a raft of questions. I would love a Nemmy story that answered them.

@TT - my brain near exploded trying to accommodate B7, Baywatch and Jaws in the same Universe (and I had trouble trying to shift the disturbing mental image of The Hoff in speedo's having a run in with Avon in his leathers on the beach, while Kit lurked sinisterly in the background...) Shame the ink has run out, but that does mean I can look forward to a return to your other interesting stories (and my brain has a slim chance of remaining intact!)

@Hugbot - this sent my brain spinning in a completely different way! As an adaptation it works perfectly in the B7 universe, lovely characterisation of Vila and a story with so much potential that could easily have been longer so I'm not surprised you over-ran. But what sent my mind a-whirl was how would our heroes have answered when asked the same question?

And Travisina - yes, please! I'd love to read the whole story of Vila and Nemmy's adventures in Space City.
Edited by purplecleric on 26 May 2015 12:54:40

I’m cheating again ... this time by dissecting the word prompt. Surely that’s not what you had in mind, PC!

Six Red Letters

Slowly, the dream images gave way to reality. The colourful blotches that obscured his vision gradually faded so that he could examine his surroundings. His angle of view was still limited on the left side, but he was used to that. At least he thought he was used to it. There was still something wrong with his memory.

He saw panels with flashing lights - the flight deck of a spacecraft? But no, he lay on a bed. It must be a medical facility, crammed with high-tech devices. Obviously he suffered from something more severe than just appendicitis.

The flashing lights were still blurred and formed a sea of colours without distinct shapes. But eventually he could distinguish six red letters glowing down on him from a prominent panel:

MA TT ER

His memory was still in the process of recovering, but he recognised the code. The three groups of letters represented treatment option, subject name and location:

Memory Assistance / Travis, T. / Emergency Room

He had been here before. Not exactly ‘here’, but in a similar facility - when Blake shot him for the first time, when Blake shot him on Aristo, when - .

When what? The memories of the last year were vague as if it had been a dream. His nervous breakdown ... his recuperation ... the trial ... his escape ... his ...

Travis winced when he realised what had happened. Had he really betrayed the human race? The last thing he remembered was the showdown on Star One. He had fallen into the maintenance shaft of the hyper-energy tap conductor. The aliens had opened it to carry out their manipulations, but the contaminant screen must still have been in effect. The automatics had retrieved his body from the shaft, recognised him as a human being, and transferred him to the medical unit.

He was still alive. But what about the Federation?

"Status report, tactical", he ordered.

+ DENIED + YOU ARE STILL NOT SUFFICIENTLY RECOVERED TO BE EXPOSED TO HIGH STRESS LEVELS +, the computer hummed.

Would the central computer of Star One obey him, a renegade? At least the medical computer did and projected a tactical chart of the vicinity of Star One. It was abundant with transponder icons so that Travis needed several minutes to survey the situation. But then two shocking truths became evident.

First, there was a large-scale battle at hand. The icons on the screen vanished one by one in an alarming frequency, and it was the alien fleet that closed in on Star One.

Second, the Liberator was still there, fighting on the side of mankind. Travis swallowed hard. Blake had proven himself the better man after all.

But Travis was not yet done for. He could redeem himself. No-one reckoned with him, but here he was, in a key position on Star One. He could change the battle in favour of mankind.

"Computer, give me a detailed record of the defensive capabilities of Star One!"

He never received an answer. There was only one glaring flash of light. Together with Star One, he was extinguished in the final blast of the alien attack.

That's really clever Hugbot and surprisingly satisfying. Nice to see Travis getting a positive ending rather that simply disappearing down the rabbit hole as a traitor. Very much in keeping with Trevor Baxendale's view of the character too. Lovely.

I am really going to miss reading all these fantastic works.
I've been reduced to tears, had my brain sent into a spin over logic puzzles and just been plain amazed at the imagination lurking around out there.
I'm off on a cruise on Monday for 12 days. Hopefully I will be able to get the internet out on the ocean blue, but if not, I shall really look forward to coming back and seeing what our wordsmiths have come up with for June.
Meanwhile, behave yourselves all those on the Forum (especially the other Avon ladies!) and enjoy yourselves all those going to Cygnus Alpha.
Make it a good one!
I shall see some of you, hopefully, at Smallspace in July and RTGP in October.

Cold.....you don't know the meaning of cold.
Cold is when you have ice on the INSIDE of the window!!!

The word prompt is just to get the ol' grey matter stirring (and that's one avenue that hasn't been explored yet - mmm). The imagination and inventiveness displayed on these threads means that I never have anything in mind because I never know where you all will take me next!

Only 2 days left on the subject of 'matter' and to get Vila out of his predicament...

The word prompt is just to get the ol' grey matter stirring (and that's one avenue that hasn't been explored yet - mmm).

Sorry for this one, but I could not resist. It is of course inspired by another current thread on this forum ...

Three Shades of Grey

Three extraordinary gentlemen sat around a table in the dimly lit corner of the pub. The first was a short, bald Belgian clad in an immaculate suit and sporting a flamboyant moustache; the second a lean alien with pointed ears and a funny blue uniform; and the third one was wearing black leather.

"How did you figure out that the National Trust warden was the murderer?" Spock asked.

Sneaking in just under the wire again. My muse is an elusive little thing

Jenna watched impatiently as Avon walked off the flight deck.
Honestly, didn't the man ever sleep? The advantage of taking the late watch was the solitude, still a luxury after the crowded conditions on the London. Finally his footsteps receded down the corridor.
She smiled in anticipation, and spoke “Zen release controls to manual”
Nothing compared to the freedom of flying. The opportunity to pilot the most advanced ship that she had ever encountered was worth more than all the treasure in the galaxy.

"Why don't you like water sports Avon?"
"What?"
"You told me you didn't like them."
"Did I?"
"You said, "I don't like water sports even at the best of times." I'm just curious why you feel like that."
" And you have an insatiable curiosity! "
" I do Avon. You know me so well."
" Oh, I know you, Dayna."
" So what's the answer?"

It was the best of times once, those moments he spent in the indoor pool after school. Half an hour snatched from the stress and pressure of unrelenting study; brief respite from the bitter atmosphere of resentment and disappointment that soured time spent at home. The noise of the busy world was muted to alien strangeness as he lay back on the water, weightless, free. The best of times until....

Chilled at last from his submersion, he had relished the hot flow from the shower, luxuriated even in its warmth. Buoyed with well-being, he towelled and changed before making his way lightly to the Kaff Lounge where the headline on the Vid Screen had screamed at him, announcing the disappearance and suspected suicide of his brother.

Matter, which seems so solid when you hold it, is, of course, mostly empty space. You trust it to support you but, in a moment, you can lose faith in its coherence and sink into the gaps. Everything that defines you unravels then as the world watches.

@ Ellen: A wonderful vignette and characterisation - painting such a telling picture of Jenna in so few words. I'm glad that these little fanfic challenges encouraged you to start pursuing your muse!

@ AnnieW: Wow, a rollercoaster ride in true Orbit style: Beginning with hilarious dialogue that seems to be the start of a funny story, then gut-punching us with the shocking revelation, and at the end you give us even more psychological insight by means of Avon's evasive manoeuvre.

And thank you all again for your praise for Six Letters and Three Shades! *bows and blushes*